An energy-based microstructure model to account for fatigue scatter in polycrystals

Scatter observed in the fatigue response of a nickel-based superalloy, U720, is linked to the variability in the microstructure. Our approach is to model the energy of a persistent slip band (PSB) structure and use its stability with respect to dislocation motion as our failure criterion for fatigue crack initiation. The components that contribute to the energy of the PSB are identified, namely, the stress field resulting from the applied external forces, dislocation pile-ups, and work-hardening of the material is calculated at the continuum scale. Further, energies for dislocations creating slip in the matrix/precipitates, interacting with the GBs, and nucleating/agglomerating within the PSB are computed via molecular dynamics simulations. Through this methodology, fatigue life is predicted based on the energy of the PSB, which inherently accounts for the microstructure of the material. The present approach circumvents the introduction of uncertainty principles in material properties. It builds a framework based on mechanics of microstructure, and from this framework, we construct simulated microstructures based on the measured distributions of grain size, orientation, neighbor information, and grain boundary character, which allows us to calculate fatigue scatter using a deterministic approach. The uniqueness of the approach is that it avoids the large number of parameters prevalent in previous fatigue models. The predicted lives are in excellent agreement with the experimental data validating the model capabilities.     

Dwell fatigue crack nucleation model based on crystal plasticity finite element simulations of polycrystalline titanium alloys

In this paper a crystal plasticity-based crack nucleation model is developed for polycrystalline microstructures undergoing cyclic dwell loading. The fatigue crack nucleation model is developed for dual-phase titanium alloys admitting room temperature creep phenomenon. It is a non-local model that accounts for the cumulative effect of slip on multiple slip systems, and involves evolving mixed-mode stresses in the grain along with dislocation pileups in contiguous grains. Rate dependent, highly anisotropic behavior causes significant localized stress concentration that increases with loading cycles. The crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE) model uses rate and size-dependent anisotropic elasto-crystal plasticity constitutive model to account for these effects. Stress rise in the hard grain is a consequence of time-dependent load shedding in adjacent soft grains, and is the main cause of crack nucleation in the polycrystalline titanium microstructure. CPFE simulation results are post-processed to provide inputs to the crack nucleation model. The nucleation model is calibrated and satisfactorily validated using data available from acoustic microscopy experiments for monitoring crack evolution in dwell fatigue experiments.     

增材制造316钢高周疲劳性能的微观力学研究

由于增材制造逐层累积的工艺特点, 其成形材料力学性能往往不同于传统减材制造材料. 在航空航天、核工业以及医疗领域中, 对增材制造材料疲劳性能的研究不足导致其很难作为主承力件使用, 这制约着增材制造技术的进一步推广使用. 本文以增材制造316钢为对象, 通过仿真手段研究其高周疲劳性能, 研究表明循环载荷下滑移带与晶界处的裂纹萌生是增材制造316钢材料发生高周疲劳的主要原因. 根据提出的微观力学模型研究了增材制造316钢的高周疲劳性能, 其中分别使用唯象学晶体塑性理论和弹塑性内聚力模型模拟晶粒和晶界的力学行为. 为了准确评估增材制造316钢的高周疲劳性能, 本文针对于晶粒和晶界分别采用Papadopoulos疲劳准则和一种基于安定性理论的介观疲劳准则同时考虑位错滑移和晶界对疲劳性能的影响. 最后, 为了验证所提微观力学模型的有效性, 本文对比了增材制造316钢和轧制316钢高周疲劳性能的仿真结果. 与实验结果相同, 仿真结果显示增材制造316钢相较于轧制316钢具有更好的高周疲劳性能.      

Influence of surface effects on fatigue of microcracks nucleation

Cyclic plastic slips in persistent slip bands (PSBs) at the free surface and in the bulk are evaluated for high-cycle fatigue of polycrystals. Analytical results are obtained for PSBs in the bulk and for surface type A PSBs, but the finite element method is used for surface type B PSBs. For practical applications, the results are presented in the form of amplification factors, which are almost insensitive to the PSB aspect ratio and other material parameters. These values are then used to include surface effects in an evaluation of the post-saturation number of cycles to crack nucleation. Some environmental effects are also taken into account. An energy balance criterion is used, and the effect of microslip irreversibilities is evaluated on a statistical basis.     

Effects of lattice misorientations on strain heterogeneities in FCC polycrystals

It is well documented that the highly heterogeneous deformation behaviour and lattice rotation typically observed within grains in a polycrystal are attributed to microstructural features such as grain structure, topology, size, etc. In this work, the effects of low- and high-angle grain boundaries on the mechanical behaviour of FCC polycrystals are investigated using a micro-mechanical model based on crystal plasticity theory. The constitutive framework relies on dislocation mechanics concepts to describe the plastic deformation behaviour of FCC metallic crystals and is validated by comparing the measured and predicted local and macroscopic deformation behaviour in a thin Al-0.5% Mg polycrystal tensile specimen containing a relatively small number of surface grains. Comparisons at the microscopic (e.g. local slip distribution) and macroscopic (e.g. average stress-strain response) levels elucidate the role of low-angle grain boundaries, which are found to have a profound effect on both the local and average deformation behaviour of FCC polycrystals with a small number of grains. However, this effect diminishes when the number of grains increases and becomes negligible in bulk polycrystals. In light of the widely accepted view that high-angle grain boundaries strongly influence the mechanical behaviour of very fine-grained metals, this work has shown that low-angle grain boundaries can also play an equally important role in the deformation behaviour of polycrystals with a relatively small number of grains.     

Numerical simulations of crack deflection at a twist-misoriented grain boundary between two ideally brittle crystals

Finite-element simulations are used to model crack propagation across twist-misoriented grain boundaries, which are an important source of toughness in lamellar microstructures such as TiAl. We consider a twist grain boundary (GB) between two adjacent grains, and assume that each grain has a single cleavage orientation. The cleavage planes and GB are modeled as a set of cohesive surfaces, and the crack path and effective toughness of the system are simulated using a dynamic finite-element method (FEM). As the crack approaches the GB under remote mode I loading, it is allowed to either deflect along the GB and/or induce the nucleation of a periodic array of cracks in the adjacent grain. The simulations predict (i) a critical toughness ratio between the GB and the cleavage planes for the crack to propagate into the adjacent grain; (ii) an array of cracks in the GB and the twisted grain; (iii) the macroscopic mode I toughness of the solid as a function of a generalized measure of crack length; and (iv) the influence of GB toughness and twist misorientation on the effective toughness of the solid.     

Very high cycle fatigue for GCr15 steel with smooth and hole-defect specimens

Very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) properties of a low temperature tempering bearing steel GCr15 with smooth and hole-defect specimens are studied by employing a rotary bending test machine with frequency of 52.5 Hz. Both smooth and hole-defect specimens break in VHCF regime with some difference in fatigue crack initiation. For smooth specimens, a fine granular area (FGA) is observed near the grain boundary in the fracture surface of the specimens broken after 10⁷ cycles. But no FGA is observed in the hole-defect specimens broken in VHCF regime, and the VHCF crack does not initiate from the small hole at the surface as it does at low or high cycle fatigue regime. Internal stress is employed to explain the VHCF behavior of these two types of specimens. At last, an advanced dislocation model based on Tanaka and Mura model is proposed to illustrate the internal stress process and to predict fatigue crack initiation life with FGA observed in the fracture region.     

纳米晶体铝在单轴拉伸下的位错堆积对微裂纹扩展的影响

摘要：针对纳米晶体材料,研究了单轴拉伸载荷作用下纳米晶体铝中的裂纹与裂纹尖端发射的位错所形成的滑移面之间的相互作用。通过分布位错法,将裂纹和滑移面等效为均匀分布的连续位错,获得了裂纹面上应力场。并引入裂纹尖端的无位错区,研究了裂纹尖端无位错区对微裂纹的萌生和主裂扩展之间的影响。结果表明,不考虑裂纹尖端无位错区时,裂纹长度较短,会先在晶界处形成微裂纹,主裂纹较长时,主裂纹会直接穿晶扩展。滑移面与裂纹尖端夹角较大时,会增加裂纹尖端发射的位错个数,从而抑制主裂纹的扩展。考虑裂纹尖端无位错区时,无位错区先于晶界处出现微裂纹,通过主裂纹与微裂纹之间位错的相互发射,导致裂纹与尖端处微裂纹汇合,有效加速了主裂纹的扩展。     

Intergranular and transgranular crack growth at triple junction boundaries in ordered intermetallics

Coincident site-lattice (CSL) and random grain boundaries (GBs) effects on intergranular and transgranular crack propagation paths in ordered intermetallics that are subjected to high rates of strain are investigated. A three dimensional dislocation density based multiple slip crystalline formulation and computational scheme are used for a detailed understanding and accurate characterization of interrelated deformation and failure mechanisms that can occur due to the generation, trapping, interaction, and annihilation of mobile and immobile dislocation densities that are generally associated with finite strain high strain-rate plasticity in L1₂ ordered intermetallics. Results from this study indicate that intergranular crack growth is along the GBs, normal to the stress-axis, and is due to the dominance of normal stresses in the crack-tip region. Transgranular crack growth is along slip-planes, and is due to the dominance of shear stresses in the crack-tip region.     

Constant amplitude and variable load history fatigue test results and predictions for cruciform and lap welds

Cruciform and lap welds were fatigue tested under constant amplitude axial load and SAE Bracket spectrum load conditions. For the cruciform joints, fatigue cracks generally initiate at the root but may initiate at the toe if higher bending stresses are induced by joint distortion. For lap welds, the stress ratio ($\text{R}$) and weld shape are the major factors influencing the fatigue crack initiation site.The fatigue test results were compared with predictions made using an analytical model developed by the authors, and good agreement between experiment and theory was observed. The model for the predictions assumes that the fatigue crack initiation period, which is the number of cycles for the initiation of a fatigue crack and its early growth and coalescence into a dominant fatigue crack, is the main portion of the total fatigue life at long lives.     

Three-dimensional local stress analysis on grain boundaries in polycrystalline material

In order to understand the initiation behavior of microstructurally small cracks in a stress corrosion cracking condition, it is important to know the tensile normal stress acting on the grain boundary (normal GB stress). The local stress in a polycrystalline body is enhanced by the inhomogeneity which stems from the shape and orientation of each grain. The stress in a three-dimensional polycrystalline body consisting of 100 grains with random orientation, under a remote uniform tensile stress condition, is evaluated by the finite element method. It was revealed that the local stress on the polycrystalline body is inhomogeneous under uniform applied stress and becomes large at those grain boundaries that are perpendicular to the load axis, though there is large fluctuation. It was also shown that the normal GB stress tends to be large near the triple points due to the deformation constraint caused by adjacent grains. Finally, the maximum stress on the surface of a large component caused by the inhomogeneity was evaluated by using Gumbel statistics.     

含氢原子缺陷晶界的剪切行为

针对4个α-Fe对称倾斜晶界,采用分子静力学考察了4个晶界中H原子偏析能的分布特征,并采用分子动力学方法研究了晶界内植入不同数量H原子对其在室温条件下剪切行为的影响.H原子通过随机方式植入界面内,利用植入H原子数量与晶界面积的比值来定义H原子面密度ρ.在含H原子晶界剪切行为分析过程中,重点考察了在不同H原子密度ρ下,4个晶界的初始塑性临界应力和晶界迁移位移的变化趋势以及4个晶界在加载过程中的微观变形机理.研究表明:晶界内的H原子偏析能明显偏低,4个晶界附近的H原子会自发向晶界内偏析;随着植入H原子数量的逐渐增多,晶界的初始塑性临界应力和后续变形阶段应力均会降低.晶界内植入H原子会从本质上改变晶界的微观变形机理,进而影响晶界在外载荷条件下的迁移属性.与不含H原子晶界的变形机理对比发现,加载过程中晶界的微结构会发生剧烈的演化,H原子的扩散和团簇化效应会导致晶界内出现纳米孔缺陷.     

Intra-granular plastic slip heterogeneities: Discrete vs. Mean Field approaches

In this paper, we derive the mechanical fields (internal stresses, elastic energy) arising from the presence of an inelastic distortion field representing a typical intra-granular “microstructure” as the one observed during the plastification of metallic polycrystals. This “microstructure” is due to the formation of discrete intra-granular plastic slip heterogeneities characterized by at least two internal lengths: the first one is the individual grain size which represents a stochastic parameter inherent to the processing route (prior working, annealing), and, the second one is the spatial distance between active slip lines or slip bands associated with inhomogeneous plastic slip in the interior of grains. These internal lengths can be observed and measured using conventional experimental techniques (EBSD, TEM, AFM). The micro-mechanical modeling of the mechanical fields associated with plastic slip events inside grains is performed with two different assumptions. The first one is based on the well-known Eshelby’s problem of plastic inclusion where only the grain diameter is considered as internal length scale. This classical method considers homogeneous plastic distortion in the grain and leads to a uniform and grain size independent total strain field in the grain. The second method accounts for a non-uniform plastic distortion in the grain characterized by its discrete nature and the two aforementioned internal lengths. Both methods consider grains as spherical inclusions with a given diameter embedded in a homogeneous medium. For the second method, plastic slip is constrained by grain boundaries seen as impenetrable obstacles to dislocations. Thus, plastic strain is embodied by distributions of discrete circular glide loops. After writing the field equations and the free energy of the medium, a micro-mechanical formulation based on the Fourier transform method is developed. It is then found that in contrast with the mean-field approach, the internal stress fields as well as the elastic energy corresponding to different dislocation configurations depend on internal lengths associated to the deformed medium. Different possible configurations associated with intra-granular plastic flow due to circular glide dislocation loops are analyzed. Finally, the results are discussed with respect to the grain size dependence of the flow strength and the Bauschinger effect for plastically deforming polycrystals and perspectives to develop new micro–macro transition schemes accounting for internal length scales are sketched out.     

The role of heterogeneous deformation on damage nucleation at grain boundaries in single phase metals

The mechanical response of engineering materials evaluated through continuum fracture mechanics typically assumes that a crack or void initially exists, but it does not provide information about the nucleation of such flaws in an otherwise flawless microstructure. How such flaws originate, particularly at grain (or phase) boundaries is less clear. Experimentally, “good” vs. “bad” grain boundaries are often invoked as the reasons for critical damage nucleation, but without any quantification. The state of knowledge about deformation at or near grain boundaries, including slip transfer and heterogeneous deformation, is reviewed to show that little work has been done to examine how slip interactions can lead to damage nucleation. A fracture initiation parameter developed recently for a low ductility model material with limited slip systems provides a new definition of grain boundary character based upon operating slip and twin systems (rather than an interfacial energy based definition). This provides a way to predict damage nucleation density on a physical and local (rather than a statistical) basis. The parameter assesses the way that highly activated twin systems are aligned with principal stresses and slip system Burgers vectors. A crystal plasticity-finite element method (CP-FEM) based model of an extensively characterized microstructural region has been used to determine if the stress–strain history provides any additional insights about the relationship between shear and damage nucleation. This analysis shows that a combination of a CP-FEM model augmented with the fracture initiation parameter shows promise for becoming a predictive tool for identifying damage-prone boundaries.     

CYCLIC HARDENING BEHAVIOR OF POLYCRYSTALS WITH PENETRABLE GRAIN BOUNDARIES： TWO-DIMENSIONAL DISCRETE DISLOCATION DYNAMICS SIMULATION

A two-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics （DDD） technology by Giessen and Needleman （1995）, which has been extended by integrating a dislocation-grain boundary interaction model, is used to computationally analyze the micro-cyclic plastic response of polycrystals containing micron-sized grains, with special attentions to significant influence of dislocationpenetrable grain boundaries （GBs） on the micro-plastic cyclic responses of polycrystals and underlying dislocation mechanism. Toward this end, a typical polycrystalline rectangular specimen under simple tension-compression loading is considered. Results show that, with the increase of cycle accumulative strain, continual dislocation accumulation and enhanced dislocation-dislocation interactions induce the cyclic hardening behavior; however, when a dynamic balance among dislocation nucleation, penetration through GB and dislocation annihilation is approximately established, cyclic stress gradually tends to saturate. In addition, other factors, including the grain size, cyclic strain amplitude and its history, also have considerable influences on the cyclic hardening and saturation.     

Grain boundary interface mechanics in strain gradient crystal plasticity

Interactions between dislocations and grain boundaries play an important role in the plastic deformation of polycrystalline metals. Capturing accurately the behaviour of these internal interfaces is particularly important for applications where the relative grain boundary fraction is significant, such as ultra fine-grained metals, thin films and micro-devices. Incorporating these micro-scale interactions (which are sensitive to a number of dislocation, interface and crystallographic parameters) within a macro-scale crystal plasticity model poses a challenge. The innovative features in the present paper include (i) the formulation of a thermodynamically consistent grain boundary interface model within a microstructurally motivated strain gradient crystal plasticity framework, (ii) the presence of intra-grain slip system coupling through a microstructurally derived internal stress, (iii) the incorporation of inter-grain slip system coupling via an interface energy accounting for both the magnitude and direction of contributions to the residual defect from all slip systems in the two neighbouring grains, and (iv) the numerical implementation of the grain boundary model to directly investigate the influence of the interface constitutive parameters on plastic deformation. The model problem of a bicrystal deforming in plane strain is analysed. The influence of dissipative and energetic interface hardening, grain misorientation, asymmetry in the grain orientations and the grain size are systematically investigated. In each case, the crystal response is compared with reference calculations with grain boundaries that are either ‘microhard’ (impenetrable to dislocations) or ‘microfree’ (an infinite dislocation sink).     

Simulated microstructure-sensitive extreme value probabilities for high cycle fatigue of duplex Ti-6Al-4V

A newly developed microstructure-sensitive extreme value probabilistic framework to characterize the performance/variability for damage evolution processes is exercised to compare the driving forces for fatigue crack formation (nucleation and early growth) at room temperature for four different microstructure variants of a duplex Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The aforementioned probabilistic framework links certain extreme value fatigue response parameters with microstructure attributes at fatigue critical sites through the use of marked correlation functions. By applying this framework to study the driving forces for fatigue crack formation in these microstructure variants of Ti-6Al-4V, these microstructures can be ranked in terms of relative high cycle fatigue (HCF) performance and the correlated microstructure attributes that have the most influence on the predicted fatigue response can be identified. Nonlocal fatigue indicator parameters (FIPs) based on the cyclic plastic strain averaged over domains on the length scale of the microstructure attributes (e.g., grains, phases) are used to estimate the driving force(s) for fatigue crack formation at the grain scale. By simulating multiple statistical volume elements (SVEs) using crystal plasticity constitutive relations, extreme value distributions of the predicted driving forces for fatigue crack formation are estimated using these FIPs. This strategy of using multiple SVEs contrasts with simulation based on a single representative volume element (RVE), which is often untenably large when considering extreme value responses. The simulations demonstrate that microstructures with smaller relative primary α grain sizes and lower volume fractions of the primary α grains tend to exhibit less variability and smaller magnitudes of the driving forces for fatigue crack formation. The extreme value FIPs are predicted to most likely occur at clusters of primary α grains oriented for easy basal slip. Additionally, surrounding grains/phases with soft orientation shed load to less favorably oriented primary α grains, producing extreme value FIPs.     

Yield stress strengthening in ultrafine-grained metals: A two-dimensional simulation of dislocation dynamics

The effect of grain size on the tensile plastic deformation of ultrafine-grained copper polycrystals is investigated using a two-dimensional simulation of dislocation dynamics. Emphasis is put on the elementary mechanisms governing the yield stress in multislip conditions. Whatever the grain size, the yield stress is found to follow a Hall-Petch law. However, the elementary mechanism controlling slip transmission through the grain boundaries at yield is observed to change with the grain size. For the larger grain sizes, the stress concentrations due to dislocations piled-up at grain boundaries are responsible for the activation of plastic activity in the poorly stressed grains. For the smaller grain sizes, the pile-ups contain less dislocations and are less numerous, but the strain incompatibilities between grains become significant. They induce high internal stresses and favor multislip conditions in all grains. Based on these results, simple interpretations are proposed for the strengthening of the yield stress in ultrafine grained metals.     

含缺口试件疲劳全寿命预测一种建议的方法

传统的研究含缺口构件的疲劳的方法是将疲劳启裂和疲劳裂纹扩展两个过程完全独立起来,用不同的方法来模拟,相互间并没有定量的关系。本文是基于最新发展的多轴疲劳损伤理论,建立了一种适用于各种载荷条件下的疲劳启裂和裂纹扩展的普适方法。根据从弹塑性分析中得到的应力应变,确定疲劳损伤模型,建立能够预测疲劳启裂、裂纹扩展速率和扩展方向的新方法。整个模拟可以分为两步:弹-塑性应力分析得到材料的应力应变分布;再运用一个通用的疲劳准则预测疲劳裂纹启裂和裂纹扩展。通过对1070号钢含缺口试件的疲劳全寿命预测,得到了与实验非常吻合的模拟结果。